Masks and Muggleborns
by LilyRousseau
Summary: Hermione wants to escape the fame that comes with being part of the Golden Trio during the war, as well as fulfill a very unlikely promise. She changes her appearance and returns to the school, but will love get in the way of her mission?  -on hiatus-
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first story I've ever decided to publish. I'd like to thank my beta chrissytingting, as well as Darksaber3434 for being my slavedriver and not allowing me to abandon it. Thanks guys :)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, not even my house. All characters, settings, creatures, et cetera belong to the highly talented J.K. Rowling, I've just borrowed it for awhile.**

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_Dear Harry,_

_ I know you don't understand why I'm leaving, but it's something I feel I need to do. I'm just not cut out for all of the fame that comes with being your friend and a member of the Order. _

_ So much has changed since we started school together. I would love to say that we're the same two friends we were at Hogwarts, but without Ron to complete the __group,__we're just lost. I hope you find happiness here in England __while I couldn't._

_After last year, I can't bear to visit any of the sights I used to love, everything reminds me of him. If I stay here I know I will truly go mad. I love you Harry, and I hate to leave you … but I have to._

_Love, Hermione_

Hermione Granger sighed and wiped the few tears that had fallen on to the parchment. She folded the letter to her friend and placed it in a crisp white envelope. As she attached it to Pigwidgeon, the tiny owl that once belonged to her friend, and almost-lover, Ron Weasley, she effectively sealed off the last link to her past. The bushy-haired witch allowed herself to shed a few more tears before sending the owl off, and whispering a soft goodbye to who she used to be.

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Draco Malfoy cringed as he watched the _Hogwarts Express _pulled into the platform. He hoped his mother appreciated the fact he was coming back to a place full of people who probably hated him. She had always insisted that he finish school, even when he was chosen by the Dark Lord. She was furious when he had to leave after Dumbledore's death, going as far as to visit his father in Azkaban and blaming him for ruining their son's future. He climbed onto the train and opted to walk past the compartments of his former classmates, Parkinson especially. He finally found what he was looking for, an empty compartment. As he sat down, his mind was flooded with the last memory of his mother.

_She lay on the battlefield that used to be the Great Hall, he rushed over to her, not caring about the bodies of fallen __Death Eaters and Order members. He didn't kno__w which ones were dead and which were stunned. He saw his aunt laughing and that filthy mudblood looking horrified, and watched as Bellatrix raised her wand to curse the __youngest W__easel, but her brother dived in front of the curs__e:__ falling on the battlefield. Granger ran for him, but his mother beat her there, aiming what was probably her __first Unforgivable Curse__ right at the __mad, twisted__ face of Bellatrix Lestrange._

_He looked back down at his fallen mother who was currently struggling to breathe. He saw a very familiar blade made of silver that he hadn't seen since earlier in the year when it was used to kill his former house elf__… It was__ sticking out of his mother's __barely-rising chest__. He struggled to keep a cold demeaner as he watched her gasp for air and dropped to his knees._

"_Draco… we were wrong," she struggled to say, "finish what I've started today__;__ this war is ridiculous."_

_He pulled the blade out of it's bloodied sheath in her flesh and held her close as she coughed her final few breaths. He managed to choke back tears for the woman who had raised him, opting to send the Lestrange dagger skittering across the floor. Soft hands wrapped around his arms and pulled him away, __and he__ held on tighter to his mother's __body, allowing__ himself to be led out of the castle. He finally came to a stop at the remains of the groundkeeper's hut. He turned around to see who had helped him, but her bushy head was already running back into the castle, presumably to rejoin her comrades. _

_It was at that moment he knew why his aunt's blade was sticking out of Narcissa Malfoy's __chest:__ she'd died to save the mudblood, Hermione Granger. He asked himself why the only person who actually cared about him would give her life to someone like that, before passing out from shock on the ground where she lay._

He was pulled out of his memories by the sound of heels clicking down the train and his compartment door sliding open. He looked up to see a girl, no, a woman, with long curly blonde hair and bright green eyes. In all of his years of attending Hogwarts he knew he had never seen her before. It was a big school – but not _that_ big.

"_Oh, je suis désolé, j'ai cru que ce compartiment était vide_!" the mystery woman exclaimed.

"I don't speak French," he said, even though he spoke it perfectly, at his mother's insistence. He just wanted to make her uncomfortable.

As his father had always taught him, a Malfoy must always have the upper-hand in any situation. He realized he had just acted like Lucius again, and felt like a git for potentially hurting the first person who didn't know who he was in a long time.

"Oh, sorry, it's a habit. I'm going to go find an empty compartment," she smiled and started to slide the door closed again.

Before she could slide the door very far, he motioned for her to sit down. He turned his head and gazed out the window, returning to his thoughts. Instead of returning to his mother's last stand, they went to the mysterious woman instead. He wondered how a woman he'd never seen before ended up on the train to Hogwarts: one who spoke fluent French as well as perfect, unaccented English. He glanced over to make sure the woman was real, and wasn't something his troubled mind had concocted as company. She was an enigma and he was determined to figure her out before the train reached Hogsmeade station.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys, this is a quick update, usually I'm going to update about once a week, but this was done so I decided to get it up early :)  
Once again I'd like to thank my beta chrissytingting, and my slavedriver Darksaber3434, who will sic Kreacher on me if I don't keep motivated to write this story.**

** I might disappear for a few weeks over the holidays as my best friend's baby is due within the next few weeks, so I'll be with her. I'll try not to disappear, but life happens.**

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing - except my car. J.K. Rowling owns everything recognizable, so if you've heard of it - It ain't mine XD**

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Hermione looked across at the man who had been her enemy for over seven years. She'd seen a different side of him during the war – he was not the boy who had stood by while his aunt tortured her, but rather a man who had broken down after seeing his mother murdered by the same madwoman. She thought back to the day where she saw what she could only assume was the real Malfoy.

_Hermione Granger froze as Bellatrix Lestrange lifted her knife, poised to throw it, as if to tell Hermione that she wasn't worth a witch's death – instead dying the muggle way. She took a few steps back in hopes that the witch did not have a great throwing arm. She felt like the world stopped moving as the blade left Bellatrix's hand and pinched her eyes shut in hopes it would be quick, but the blade never came. She opened her eyes, wondering what had happened and saw the fallen body of Narcissa Malfoy. She looked at the pureblood, horrified that someone would take a blade for her, least of all someone she believed to be her enemy. Narcissa looked up at the girl she saved, and mouthed the words 'protect him,' before she was obstructed by her son's equally blonde head._

_As her friend, and boyfriend Ron fell protecting his sister, followed by the demise of his murderer at the hands of Molly Weasley, she burst into tears, falling onto her knees on the battlefield. She wanted this war to be over. The broken woman looked over at Malfoy, who seemed to be in a state of shock as he clutched his mother and held her as she passed on. She decided to help the woman who had saved her life and dragged mother and son out of the Great Hall and onto the grounds._

_Before he could say something to ruin what she had just done for him, she took __off towards the__ castle. Before heading in she turned around and saw what could only be Draco Malfoy completely breaking down. He looked almost broken__:__ sitting by the ashes of Hagrid's hut, mourning over his mother. It was the first time Hermione had seen him human, and his sobs were breaking her heart more than watching Ron die._

She snapped out of her memory to the sound of the kind old woman with the trolley. She bought a chocolate frog and visibly blushed when she saw her face smiling up at her from the card – only it wasn't her face anymore. She hoped the man she was sitting with did not notice the blush.

The newly blonde-haired witch looked up to see him looking at her, and cocked her head to the side, "Can I help you?"

"You can tell me your name," he said boldly, clearly trying to slip into the façade of smugness that he used to wear with pride.

"Lilianne _Thérèse_ Rousseau," she said with an accent she'd practiced all summer to sound genuine.

"That's a mouthful, Lily."

Hermione smiled, and looked at the man she wasn't supposed to know, "I think you should return the favour."

"Draco Malfoy."

Hermione nodded as if the name meant nothing to her, and she wondered what her best friend, Harry, would think if he saw her talking to _the enemy, _the prince of Slytherin, death eater Draco Malfoy. She wondered if he'd see through her new hair, her new eyes, and the charm she placed on her face to change her nose and skin tone, distorting her features. As much as she liked the new look, she missed the plain features that made up her real face. Draco had returned to the window, thinking about Merlin-knows-what, so she returned to her thoughts of that night.

_After the battle had ended, Hermione sought out the broken Malfoy__. __He seemed to have regained some of his composure and was on his feet. The trademark sneer had returned to his face and when he saw her, he made a snide comment about how her dirty blood__ had gotten on him when she touched him. __The comments__ about her blood status no longer bothered __her: the__ battle had strengthened her, __and __she had won. The pureblood reign was coming to an end. _

_She glanced down at Narcissa and knew that she owed this family her life, and if that meant protecting Draco, then so be it. She made a silent promise to watch over him and keep him out of __Azkaban… and especially out from under his father's thumb.__ She wasn't doing this __for him: it was__ the silent promise to his mother, the woman she now owed her own life to._

_After seeing the man in front of her cry, Hermione couldn't look at him the same way anymore, he wasn't that obnoxious elitist from her youth, this was a real person in front of her. She wasn't ready to see an enemy as human. So she said the first thing that popped into her head, "You're lucky you know__. Since you__ were only 16 when you took the mark and didn't actually kill anyone, you'll stay out of Azkaban."_

_Malfoy gave her a look that __made her feel as if she'd sprouted an extra head that had began to__ recite Shakespeare in fluent French. After the most awkward silence she had ever experienced, he bent down, touched his mother's arm and disapparated from the castle grounds. Hermione was left alone to return to the Great Hall to help the __Weasleys bring their son home. _

_After the battle, Ginny was a broken shell. She never smiled, and she even dumped Harry. Her friends' lives were falling apart, and reporters would never leave them alone. There were speculations that Ginny left Harry because he was with Hermione. One reporter even suggested that it was Ginny that Hermione was dating. The media frenzy was driving her mad, but luckily the media had been kept off of Malfoy. Sometimes it paid to have gained friends in high places._

_She told her friends goodbye and left to spend the summer __in southern France__,__where __she had__ learned that Malfoy was returning to school. Hermione felt her heart break at the thought of leaving Harry all alone, in the state Ginny had left him, but the public life wasn't one for her. She promised herself that she would keep in touch with the wizard that had been next to her for seven years of her life. She decided that if she ever __wanted to return to the Wizarding World, she couldn't be Hermione Granger. Even here in France there were speculations as to where she'd gone._

Hermione was suddenly snapped out of her reminiscing by the sound of what was now her name. Malfoy motioned to the window and she saw Hogsmeade, and part of her was saddened by the lack of her good friend Hagrid. Instead, she saw the tiny form of her Charms teacher, Professor Flitwick.

She stood up and walked off the train as an entirely different person.

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**A/N: So what did you think? Nothing has really happened yet, but the story will pick up, I promise, just bear with me. I enjoy reviews so don't hesitate to hit that pretty "review" button.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Geez, guys, it seems like I haven't updated in a week and a half. What? I HAVEN'T? **

**Anyways, joking aside I'm sorry to the few people who reviewed expecting an update, and any lurkers if I've got them. I got this chapter back from my beta a few days ago and ended up working five days in a row at work, so I didn't have time to edit it, then yesterday was obviously Christmas Day and I was expected to put in an appearance with family.**

**So, here is Chapter Three. Happy Holidays, Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. I wish I owned Draco, but if I did I wouldn't be writing about him. All recognizable content belongs to J.K. Rowling - No matter how much I wish she'd given me Draco for xmas.**

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Draco sat down at his house table and tried to listen to the opening speech in which Professor McGonagall had taken a page from her predecessor's book, and she congratulated the students on being able to overcome incredible adversity during the war. The beaming headmistress welcomed the new first years as well as the returning seventh years, before introducing the long list of new teachers. Evidently Professor Grubbly-Plank was kept on permanently teaching care of magical creatures, Draco was loathe to admit it, but he would miss the giant oaf. McGonagall would continue teaching transfiguration until she found a replacement, and lastly he saw the smug face of Harry Potter. The old bat had given the war hero with no NEWTs the position of professor. Here he thought that Hogwarts didn't show favoritism. Silly him. As he looked around the room, he noticed that very few of his classmates had decided to return this year, not that this was particularly shocking; families were mourning children, siblings, or parents, others simply did not want to return. He noticed that no members of the Golden Trio had returned, at least not as students. He knew the Weasel had died, but he wondered where Granger was this year. As he looked around him at the people seated pretending to listen to whatever else the headmistress had to say, he noticed the absence of Crabbe and Goyle and realized that their deaths had not really bothered him until now. Blaise Zabini was seated across from him with the usual unimpressed expression on his face, and Pansy was on his right trying to meet his gaze. He frowned and took a closer look at the table, wondering where the Greengrass girls were.

"If you're looking for Daphne and Astoria, you won't find them," Blaise supplied plainly. "Their mother took them to Italy to hide from the press. It seemed like she was embarrassed of her husband's recent incarceration. Makes me glad we stayed neutral."

"What about the rest of our class?" Draco asked, genuinely curious.

"Longbottom and the Loon ran off to get married, Nott will get here sometime later today, he had to deal with his father's will, Weaslette tried out for the Holyhead Harpies, and no one knows what happened to Granger."

Draco found it rather odd that even Blaise didn't know where Hermione was. Blaise had a way of knowing gossip and facts. It made him wonder what the dark-haired pure-blood knew about the Malfoy family. He looked up and took in the room as a whole. Though the castle had been repaired and the Great Hall returned to its former glory, it still reminded him of the day his mother died. The man could still see the disarray that had befallen this glorious room, his aunt's wicked laughter, and his fallen friends and family members. So much death filled this room, and the students and teachers were just supposed to sit, eat, and pretend that they were happy.

"…Due to the events of last year, the faculty has decided to disregard the grades students received last year and because of this, the classes will be a refresher for some of you: I apologize for this. Do not assume that classes are optional for the students who were here last year. Attendance is still mandatory for every student in this room.

"Finally, we have a student who originally attended Beauxbatons Academy but wishes to finish her schooling here. While unorthodox, an accommodation has been made for her, and I hope that you Slytherins will welcome her, since you seem to be quite short on students this year.

"That seems to be everything of importance, and you all look rather hungry, so let the feast begin."

Draco looked around and smiled at the faces of the first years' shocked faces as food appeared directly in front of them. Thinking back to his own first year, he wondered if he had looked like that. Probably not, for he was taught since birth that a Malfoy never showed surprise: if they didn't know a fact, then it must not be important. In hindsight, most of his life had been shaped by 'what it meant to be a Malfoy.'

_Eleven-year-old Draco walked into his father's study clutching his Hogwarts letter to his chest. His mother had been so proud of him when it arrived, not because it was unexpected, but because she loved her son and saw the happiness on his face when he had the same letter she had gotten years earlier. He hoped his father would have a similar reaction, but even at the age of eleven he knew it was unlikely. Draco saw his father as exactly what a wizard should be, and he strived to grow out of his shadow someday. _

_His father looked at him with disdain, wondering why the house elves hadn't kept his young son out of his study. Immediately Draco thought it was a bad idea to come in here; he should have let his mother do this. His father may have been his idol, but it didn't make him any less terrifying. _

_"Draco, I'm trying to work," he said, offering his son the first acknowledgement he had gotten in weeks. _

_"I'm sorry father, but I got my letter today, I'm going to school in the fall," he replied, smiling because he had gotten a response rather than being shuffled out by his mother, or more likely that infernal elf. _

_His father narrowed his eyes and told his son to stand up straight and be dignified; he was a Malfoy for Merlin's sake. This was the first time Draco had learned that his father expected him to do certain things, little did he know that proper posture was only the beginning. It had always been him being ushered out of his father's presence by the elf or spending time with his mother. He had assumed that his family was important because of how hard his father worked. The importance was evident every time passersby fell over one another to greet his mother. He felt like royalty, but even so it was hard to believe that there was a certain way that a 'Malfoy' was expected to act; apparently it wasn't just a name. _

_He was told that he must be dignified, to befriend only purebloods – especially purebloods that he could control – he must be sorted into Slytherin – the only house befitting of his blood status. He must also find a pureblood woman to marry by his seventh year, like generations before him, to continue the line. And finally, as well as most importantly, he must not embarrass his father._

Draco felt a hand on his shoulder snap him out of his painful childhood memory. The day he got his letter should have been a happy one, but the damage had been done. No matter how hard his mother tried to perk him up, he refused to respond either way. This was the day his emotions were shut down, and he became his father's idea of what a pureblood was – something he had never realized was important.

He looked at the arm draped around him and followed it back to its owner; his pug-faced, irritating girlfriend. Pansy Parkinson. She smiled brightly at what he could only assume was his acknowledgement and he winced inwardly at how he had treated her in the past. While she had been irritating and he didn't particularly care for her, she didn't deserve to be treated like how his father had always treated his mother, with nothing but disdain and brief acknowledgements. He refused to be his father's son and forced himself to return the smile, a gesture made easier by the fact he caught the gaze of the beautiful woman he sat across from on the train. The blonde wizard wondered why she captivated his attention so fully.

The rest of the feast was relatively uneventful, almost reminiscent, of the previous years. The House ghosts made their appearance, the prefects shifted importantly, and the first years stared at the 'sky' in awe. Looking at the scene, the returning students, including Draco, almost managed to forget what they had witnessed and resolved to enjoy the feast. He marvelled at how such simple aspects of the magical world blew the minds of these young students, even the new Slytherins seemed less hardened than their older counterparts. Unfortunately, the carefree feast only lasted a few short hours.

He wished it could last forever.

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**So there you have it, chapter three.**

**Chapter four could take awhile since my lovely beta is busy with school right now, but I'd still love to hear the reviews, even if the next chapter could take a few weeks _ Sorry.**

**DarkSaber3434: Thanks :D and being stuck with you isn't so bad.**

**Katie-Lyn Della Robia: Merci pour votre révision. J'apprécie que vous l'aimez :)**

**DaRk_AnGel_oF_sOrRoW_rEtUrNs: Thanks for the review, this flashback isn't too sad, they get worse :(.**

**HaileyDelacour101: I don't really think this is updating 'soon,' but I did the best I could :D**

**ChrissyTingTing: The best kind of beta reviews the story she's beta-ing. Thanks :D**

**Eisette: Wow, involved review :D. I didn't want to make her too Hermione-ish, since she seems to have grown out of it, but I don't think I'd ever be able to beat the bookishness (is that even a word O.o) out of her. So it'll show up, Draco may just be too dim to see it. **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I'm not dead! **

**I had holidays, then some personal issues to work out. My lovely slavedriver, Darksaber3434, was kind enough to beta this chapter while chrissytingting is busy with school.**

**Thank you to my lovely reviewers, Sauerkirsche, Darksaber3434, Dark Angel of Sorrow returns, Ginnyx34eva, Eisette, ChrissyTingTing, HaileyDelacour101, & Katie-Lyn Della Robia.**

**Disclaimer: As much as I begged and pleaded, I did not get Draco Malfoy for Christmas, therefore I do not own him or any of the other wonderful characters or settings. If I missed anything: recognizable = not mine.**

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Hermione Granger was furious. She waited impatiently in the Slytherin common room until she knew that the headmistress had returned to her office. She stormed through the corridors almost running over a Gryffindor first year. She stopped briefly to make sure he was alright, before continuing her trek.

She cursed at the statue blocking her way for several minutes before it jumped aside revealing Professor McGonagall looking rather unimpressed.

"Harry Potter! Really?" she raged. "He's going to recognize me!"

"Then perhaps you should tell him who you are, Hermione," replied the aging professor, knowingly.

"He wouldn't understand..."

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Over the weeks at Hogwarts Draco was catching glares from almost every student that had been on the opposite side of the war as his family - even from those who had stayed neutral. He hated thinking that so many people he had barely met hated the very ground he walked on. Some of them did have a reason to hate him, as he had played an active part in making their lives miserable. By the end of October the students were even less welcoming, he found scathing notes attached to his bed, charmed library books were missing their shelves and hitting him in the head - he suspected the Muggle-bornMadam Pince was responsible for that trick - and his classroom chair always tried to dump him out. Compared to how the death eaters treated his family after he failed to kill Dumbledore and identify Harry Potter, this was nothing, but he was still lonely. Even Pansy and Blaise had stopped associating with him, Blaise entirely and Pansy in public.

"Draco, you okay?" a soft voice rang from behind his seat on the plush green couch.

Draco spun around and saw the one person who still treated him as an equal and a friend, his mysterious blonde witch. Over the weeks, the man had grown fond of her; she was intelligent, sweet and had a way of tapping her quill on the table and scrunching up her nose when she was studying. Not that he watched. She intrigued the wizard, and Draco always loved puzzles.

"Not really, just debating whether or not I should return after Christmas. No one seems to want me here and I'm sick of trying to study for class and have a book poke me in the eye," the blonde wizard replied.

"Don't destroy your education because of a few nasty immature kids. Whatever you've done in the past is irrelevant now. Were all survivors trying to rebuild our lives, right?"

Draco nodded sadly, happy to have at least one friend. The friend in question had sat down next to him and grabbed his hand tenderly. His heart skipped a beat and he chalked it up to the fact that no one had done something so sweet and caring since his mother had died. Not even his girlfriend. Draco didn't believe it was because he liked her, because he didn't.

_Sure, she's beautiful and kind, and so bloody smart, and that body, no...I don't like her_, he thought, but as he looked into her clear emerald eyes.

He muttered a single word under his breath, "Fuck."

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Hermione Granger had come back to school for two reasons**:** her education and Draco Malfoy. Her studies were the easy part, it paid to spend hours with a book glued to her nose. She may have changed her appearance but she was still mostly the shy bookworm she had always been - with a few battle scars. Draco on the other hand was a more difficult feat. She was trying to fulfill her promise to his mother but the torment the students were dishing out were probably hurting him more than he was letting on.

Hermione would never admit this to anyone, but she had always admired Malfoy's confidence and the way he effortlessly sailed through class work. She rarely saw him in the library, but he was always near the top of the class, especially in potions and Arithmancy. He would have been Head Boy if not for the events of their sixth year.

The witch glanced up into the man's stormy silver eyes and their gaze met for a few seconds, an unreadable expression in the depths of the pureblood's stare. Hermione would give her right arm to be able to dig through his brain and learn what had broken this boy beyond repair. His posture was no longer regal, there were faint lines forming on his once flawless ivory forehead. He had deep bags under his brilliant eyes and always seemed to be trying to blend into the walls and furniture. Maybe his mother wanted her to piece him back together.

No matter how much Hermione told herself that this was all for Narcissa, she knew deep down that she had kicked him ever since she had seen him break down and become human to her.

"Fuck," she whispered at her realization, not realizing that he had done the exact same thing.

The object of her affections made an excuse to leave that she didn't truly hear. She was just happy to be alone to sort out her feelings.

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Draco made his way upstairs and found a note on his bed in Pansy's overly-feminine cursive.

_Draco,  
Meet me in the common room after curfew tonight. I've missed you.  
Pansy_

Draco chuckled at the idea that an eighteen year old still dotted her 'i's with hearts. He could scarcely believe that that the girl panicked when they were seen together, ever since he had become a social pariah, but she still wanted to sleep with him. Draco supposed her prospects were pretty slim, as well as money he had inherited from his mother. There was also the wealth and property he would receive once his father received the kiss. He would never have to work a day in his life, and neither would his wife - a fact Pansy knew quite well. While doubtful of her intentions, the man decided to take Pansy up on her offer, he needed the distraction.

Distraction was the reason he padded out of bed wearing only boxers at two in the morning and crept down to the common room. Pansy was lounging on the couch in a silk slip attempting to look seductive, but really just came off looking like a fish. Draco found himself thinking about what Lily would look like in the same outfit and groaned at the image. Pansy mistook the sound for appreciation of her efforts and stood up to close the gap between them. His lips met hers hungrily, grabbing her hips out of impatience. Pansy assumed that her boyfriend's enthusiasm was completely attributed to her and she allowed him to slide the straps of the green slip off her shoulders, leaving her completely exposed.

The girl whimpered at the loss of contact and he happily returned to her lips, fully believing he was with a certain French woman. He pinned her against the wall with his lean body.

"Draco, please..." the pure-blood witch moaned, feeling the silk of his shorts on her naked form.

The man never needed to be asked anything twice, so in one motion his only article of clothing was laying on the floor. He picked up the witch, wrapping her legs around his waist before deftly entering her. Using the wall and his own strength he supported her while thrusting into her. He smiled as the cold wall forced her to press even closer to him.

His arms grew tired from supporting the woman and he walked them over to the sofa, refusing to lose contact with her. To Draco's chagrin, he called out the name of his blonde woman as his reached his peak. The slip of the tongue caused Pansy to shove him off of her in anger, leaving the man in a heap on the floor.

"Fuck," the man muttered, grabbing his shorts from the floor, unaware that the owner of the name he had called had entered the room in time to hear what he had said and had passed out on the floor.

He turned around as he heard the thump. He saw the object of his affections in a heap on the cold stone floor. Fearing the worst he scooped her up and ran to the hospital wing, completely unconcerned with his lack of clothing.

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"Honestly**,** Mr. Malfoy stop hovering, she just fainted," a mediwitch said for probably the fourth time, but Draco refused to leave her side. It didn't feel right.

Hermione was embarrassed, she had passed out from seeing two people having sex. She thought she had gotten over her fourth year. Keeping her eyes closed so not to alert the man seated by her bed to her consciousness.

No matter how hard she tried to push it back, her most painful memory flooded into the forefront of her mind.

_Hermione Granger peeled off her dress from the Yule ball smiling at the fact that she had effectively ruined Ron's night by showing up with Viktor. She was happy that she had made him jealous, it made her feel like a woman rather than just someone he copied homework off of. Viktor had asked her out for drinks after the ball and she had accepted, loving the attention he was showering her with. She intended to take advantage of the lack of curfew and the fact someone had noticed her._

_The Bulgarian a more casually dressed Hermione to Hogsmeade, still in his dress robes. He seemed less happy than he was when he was dancing with her at the ball. She was about to ask him what was wrong but he grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her into the Hog's Head pub. She started to get nervous as he immediately walked up to the bar and began to take shots of a liquor she couldn't identify. He told her that a child should not be beating someone like him, spitting on the dirty hard wood floors as he spoke Harry's name._

_Hermione grew increasingly more uncomfortable as the night went on, and Viktor moved closer and closer to inebriation. She begged him to take her back to the school, but all he told her was that she should loosen up and have some fun. She tried to leave on her own after he was falling out of his chair chatting up the bartender, but he grabbed her arm and forcefully sat her back down._

_Hermione started to get scared when he had decided it was time to leave and he led her in the opposite direction of the castle. Getting out from his grip would be a futile effort, he was far too strong for her._

_The Bulgarian wizard dragged her into the shrieking shack, and shoved her roughly into the main room. She recognized the dingy bed Sirius Black had slept on the previous year and some of Ron's blood was still dried in a puddle on the floor __from the __Animagi's__ teeth sinking into his flesh. She let out a small sob, wishing she hadn't tried to make Ron__ jealous._

_The crying witch looked over at her 'date' and her eyes widened when she saw him removing his cloak. He grabbed her shoulders and pressed her into the bed. She was powerless as he __unbuttoned her __Muggle__ jeans__ and roughly pulled them down. Hermione Granger searched for her wand, hoping to extract herself from the situation. She sobbed harder when she saw it laying on the floor; it must have slid out of her boot when she was thrown to the floor. Viktor laughed at her desperation and sat up on her legs as he pulled her trousers down.  
_  
Hermione screamed, forcing the memory out of her head. She would not allow herself to see the night Krum had taken her, she didn't want him to be her first, she wanted it to be Ron. Ron didn't even get to be her second, because of the fear and pain the Bulgarian had imposed on her.

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Draco's eyes shot up to the tear stained face of his only friend. She was panting heavily and had let out the most terrified scream he had ever heard. The mediwitch had returned and was checking the blonde for injuries.

"What did **you** do to her!" the nurse shouted at him.

"N-nothing. I d-didn't touch her," he stammered, searching Lily's face for pain.

The woman had seemed to have calmed down, and was insisting that she was alright. The mediwitch finally seemed to accept that her patient had just had a nightmare and returned to her office.

"She may have believed it, but I don't," Draco said, looking at her with curiosity and concern.

"It wasn't a nightmare, it was a memory."

"What happened?"

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**A/N: So there you have it, chapter four.**

**I'm off on a mini-vacation for a couple days, so I gave you a longer update this time. There's also the fact that I seem to have an erratic update schedule as is…hmm, I'll try to sort that out. From now on I'm **_**trying **_**to have this story updated once a week – work permitting. **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Look at me! I'm updating on time.**

**My lovely beta, _ChrissyTingTing_, had the time so she beta'd this chapter for me - fixing a ton of mistakes, I'm fairly sure this chapter started off as a complete rant O_O. Thanks for putting up with the madness that is my brain.**

**Not too many reviewers this time, but what can you do, thanks _ChesireCat23, Ginnyx34eva, Dark_Angel_of_Sorrow_Returns (I can't bring myself to do the alternating capitals, sorry), and FangisFexcellent._**

**Anywhoo, I seem to have ranted enough for one chapter so...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything, except Lily and uhm... that lamp; yeah that lamp is mine. Be jealous.**

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Lily seemed to have calmed down, for she was now insisting that she was all right. After smothering her with attention, the mediwitch finally appeared to accept that her patient had nothing but a nightmare and returned to her office.

"She may have believed you're fine, but I don't," Draco said, looking at Lily with curiosity and concern.

The woman paused for a moment, before taking a deep breath and replying, "It wasn't a nightmare, it was a memory."

"What happened?"

Hermione looked up at the pale wizard by her bed, wondering if she trusted a man who had tormented her and made her life hell for years. He had also stood idly in the sidelines as his aunt had tortured her, going as far as not saying anything as the word 'Mudblood' was carved into her forearm - a mark she still carried today. She still flinched whenever she saw the dark mark on his smooth, pale arm, a permanent reminder of a war that had ripped so many of her friends from her. If he knew she was Hermione, she definitely wouldn't trust him with ammunition like this. However, he didn't, so it was a pure gamble. She had no clue what to do.

"Draco, I can't... Just trust me, I'm fine," she managed, forcing a smile.

Draco Malfoy looked down at the blonde woman with disdain: she was hiding something painful and he didn't know what it was, nor did he like it. Curiosity was a powerful family trait. It got him into trouble many times, but more importantly, it helped him figure out what kind of person his father truly was… before he was completely indoctrinated into being his heir and his clone.

He nodded morosely, letting the girl have her secrets for now. She looked so small and broken in the hospital bed. He pitied her. After Lily had stopped screaming, the mediwitch had returned to the office without discharging her. Quidditch had caused him to spend many a night in this room, and it was lonely. The man scooped up the fragile witch, fully intending to carry her to the dungeons so she wouldn't have to walk. Lily stiffened in his arms, making it hard to hold on to her.

"P-please, put me d-down," she whimpered, and he immediately set her down onto her feet, puzzled.

Draco had no idea what this woman had against his carrying her, but even he could see the fear evident in her emotive green eyes. She was petrified of him. The terrified girl took off ahead in apparent panic, and the pureblood stared at his hands, wondering what he had done.

Over the next couple days, Draco kept his eye on the girl, wrinkling his brow whenever she shied away from being touched. She never acted like that before; since he had met her, he had studied her enough to know that something in her snapped the night she fainted.

He thought back to what had happened the night he fainted, and wondered if it was hearing him call her name that had set her off. The thought was dimissed when she was shying away from _all _men. Draco found himself remembering how his mother used to shy away from physical touches whenever his father would force her to have sex with him - even her young son made her nervous. He found himself wondering if something similar had happened to this young beauty. There was only one way to find out.

Hermione shuffled out of Ancient Runes, intending to head back to her common room to drown out her memories in homework as forcing herself to focus had helped in the past: first her OWLs, then her prefect duties and the D.A., and finally she had the Horcruxes to think about. This time her mind refused to repress her memory of Viktor, and she debated obliviating her own mind just to remove it and feel human again.

As the witch rounded the corner, nearly reaching her destination, a pair of strong, pale hands pulled her back around the corner. Before she could look at the man the hands belonged to, his lips met hers in a bruising kiss. Hermione panicked and shoved him off of her, bursting into tears.

"Who was it?" Draco asked in a calm voice, that sounded forced even to the panic stricken muggleborn.

"P-P-pardon?" the woman sobbed.

Hermione looked at the well-over-six-foot form of Draco Malfoy in terror. She bit down hard on her bottom lip, tasting copper, and waited for him to voice his suspicions. She didn't have to wait long.

"Someone hurt you… badly, who was it?" replied the man, his voice finally breaking. He was mentally kicking himself for what he had chosen to do to satisfy his curiosity.

"If you suspected, then why would you touch me?" she managed, her clear green eyes locking with his cool silver ones. The woman looked almost like she was choking, as she tried to hold back tears. Finally she gave up and slid down the wall.

"I had to know for sure," the man answered, his face contorting into a painful expression. He sat down on the floor by the wall, giving her a sad look. He opened and closed his mouth several times before finally saying, "I know what you're going through, you know.

"My parents had an arranged marriage: a pureblood tradition, obviously. She was seventeen at the time, and he was twenty-six. For years Lucius had a reputation for being selfish and cruel, but she married him to please her parents. Her sisters were furious that she had been promised to a man so well off and one of them never actually spoke to her again. However, that could be my father's fault: he was never impressed that Andromeda married a muggle. This fury from her sisters left her completely isolated and alone, which caused her to throw herself into her marriage. She was determined to please Lucius, dressing immaculately. She managed the house elves and threw fantastic parties that became the envy of the Wizarding World. She was kind and generous, always charitable; the neighbors started calling her Lady Malfoy out of respect.

"Anyways, her father wasn't happy. He had a perfect wife but no heir, which was something his numerous mistresses couldn't give him, no matter how... enthusiastic they were. My mother was nineteen the first time he forced her into his bed. It took her three years to carry a baby to term - me. My father enjoyed the power that came with forcing her to do as he bade and continued to do it even after I was born. Whatever that was left of my mother went into raising me properly. I probably ended up disappointing her in the end."

Hermione sat quietly on the floor, listening to Draco's story, wondering how he knew it, but she couldn't bring herself to ask. From what she knew of Draco's father, it was probably a point of pride to say he broke a beautiful, spirited woman by showing his dominance over his 'property.'

Hermione slid closer to her friend, telling him a partially-invented story of a classmate in her fourth year whom she'd had briefly had a crush on. By the time he reciprocated her feelings she had moved on and turned him down. Unfortunately, he wouldn't take no for an answer, forcefully taking her virginity in the school bathroom. The story was fake but the tears were real, and she couldn't believe that Draco Malfoy was the first person she had told about what had happened with Krum. She had fully dug up her most painful memory and was losing the tight mask she had made for herself.

The broken woman felt somehow closer to her former enemy. She stood up and looked into his stormy, silver eyes. Hermione touched his hand gently and froze as he leaned in to kiss her for the second time that day. The woman had no idea why he did it, maybe it was pity, or maybe it was part of the moment. She leaned forward and his lips tentatively brushed hers.

Surprising herself, she allowed the kiss, going so far as to deepen it and take comfort in his arms. Maybe while she was helping him, he could put the pieces of her back together.

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**A/N: There you have it. Chapter Five.**

**Reviews are lovely, and I enjoy them, and I do _try _to answer everyone's questions. So feel free to yell at me if I forget to answer one, I'm sure DarkSaber3434 will let you borrow Kreacher for awhile.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Look at me! I'm updating early :O**

**ChrissyTingTing is bloody amazing, she turned this chapter into something readable in record time. *bows***

**Thanks ****SauerKirsche for your reviews on...every chapter XD; as well as CheshireCat23, Ginnyx34eva, thelovelykay, & stupidamericanidioms91. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, if I did I would not be writing about Draco, I'd be ...ahem-all credit goes to J.K. Rowling**

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Hermione's lips danced with Draco's as if they were old lovers. She managed to push all thoughts of Krum out of her head and melt into the tenderness of his kiss, running her fingers through his silken locks.

The pureblood pulled away from her, breathing heavily. He could take things further, he had countless times before, but Draco refused to take advantage of an emotional woman. This girl was important to Draco; he refused to treat her like the numerous girls before her. He had enough notches in his bedpost.

Draco looked at the girl in front of him and saw her face fall and her hands drop to her side. He knitted his brows together, mentally kicking himself for kissing her for the second time that night. Now she thought he was rejecting her.

"I'm sorry I kissed you, Lily," he managed, swallowing his pride and apologizing for his actions for the first time in a long time.

"I'm not," she immediately replied, staring into his eyes. "You are the second person I've been able to touch since I was fourteen. It's nice to be able to kiss someone without panic."

Draco felt a twinge of jealousy at being second, rather than first. He knew it was irrational to want her to have waited four years to kiss a boy she had never met, but Malfoy men weren't known for their ability to share. If Draco wanted something, he'd be damned if someone else got it.

Hermione pushed Draco closer to the wall and met his lips once again. The kiss was stiff at first, but Draco allowed himself to kiss her back, pulling her closer to him. The muggle-born melted into him, wondering where he'd learned how to shut down all conscious thought with the power of a single kiss. She bit his bottom lip, smiling into the kiss. Part of her wanted to avoid getting this close to him considering who he was, but she had always believed in giving second chances. The man was less cold this year and she had decided to give him a chance.

Draco groaned in surprise when the woman in front of him deepened the kiss into something less tender and more urgent. He pulled away again trying to calm himself, he hadn't had to fight to control himself since the summer of his fourth year. Since then, it always took more than a kiss to turn him on. He thought back to that summer and sighed at how he became a man.

_Draco walked into his father's study, as he did every summer. His father always had lessons for him. He had __begun to anticipate humiliation and cruelty every time he walked into the study room, but somehow__, the man was still his idol. A boy always forgives his father's faults._

_"Draco, have you taken a girl to your bed yet?" his father asked, looking up from the files on his desk._

_"No sir, Daphne and I have... experimented briefly, but I have not had sex with her," the fourteen year old replied, embarrassed to be discussing his sex life with his father._

_All of his life Draco had seen various young women walking through the house in various states of undress, sometimes greeting him before apparating away. He knew his father kept mistresses, his mother knew as well._

_"__Disappointing; when I was your age I took full advantage of my position in life. Your grandfather allowed me to...__borrow a woman when I was thirteen. I waited to see if you could pluck up the courage on your own, but clearly your mother coddles you too much," Lucius sneered, walking out of the room._

_Draco frowned and stood in __the center of the room, puzzled. He wondered if his father wanted him to follow, but instead stayed__ in the cold study examining the marble floors. His father returned a couple minutes later with a scantily clad redhead in tow._

_"This is __Annette. While she__ lacks admirable blood status, she makes up for it in enthusiasm," grinned Lucius, shoving the woman into the room._

_Draco stood poised, and wondered why he was being introduced to this woman. His father never made a point to make the woman he slept with __known;__ they meant nothing to __him, and the boy was shocked that Lucius even knew their names. The redhead took his hand and__ led him through the house into the room his father often disappeared into for hours on end._

_"Draco, is it?" the woman finally spoke, smiling weakly._

_Draco nodded his head, noticing the room contained nothing other than a large bed in one corner._

_"Your father has... given me to you," the witch __that he__ presumed was muggle-born muttered sadly. "I'll never understand pure bloods. You're what? Fifteen?"_

_"Fourteen," Draco replied, unsure of how he felt about eventually having sex with a woman years older than himself._

_Annette's eyes widened at the idea of being given to a fourteen year __old: even__ her values were higher than this. She sighed, and knew she was going to have to obey her orders. She had grown used to the robes and jewelry Lucius gave her to keep her quiet of his __exploits… as well as__ his terrifying cruelty if she displeased him. It wasn't an honourable life, but it was one she'd made for herself. She slid her satin slip off of her shoulders and allowed it to fall to the floor in a silken heap. The muggleborn allowed the young boy to take in her slender shape, smiling as he dwelled on her milky white, full breasts._

_Annette grasped his hand and led it to cup one of the soft mounds. She leaned down to meet his lips with hers, feeling entirely wrong to be doing something so intimate with her lover's son. Draco slid his own robes off of his shoulders__,__ taking his shirt with it. His father had a good taste in women__;__ the redhead made him wonder why muggleborns were so looked down upon. She looked incredible, but __perhaps this was all they were good for. Purebloods were wives, and mudbloods were for sex._

_Draco had enough of the gentle teasing. This woman would not stop him if he tried anything, unlike Daphne. He fully intended to take advantage of the situation, losing most of his rational__ thought. His girlfriend wouldn't care if he did this__;__ she knew what was expected of him._

_He used all of the strength he'd gained from playing __Quidditch in the__ last few years to shove her onto the bed. Annette gasped at his boldness, fully expecting to have to coax him into everything. Draco reached down and undid his trousers, sliding them down his legs before stepping out of them and climbing on top of his borrowed lover. He had to admit her fiery crimson hair __and full lips that were parted lazily was one of the sexiest things he had ever seen in his life. He could__ see why Lucius chose her._

_Fully naked__,__ the boy leaned down to kiss the goddess below him. She responded more eagerly than he had expected and led one of his hands between her legs, whispering instructions seductively into his ear. He groaned impatiently and inserted a long, slender finger into her. He ducked his head down and sucked a nipple into his mouth. The woman gasped again, glad he was experimenting instead of waiting for instructions. The woman twisted impatiently after a couple minutes of his attentions and he pushed into her cautiously. Annette dug her fingernails into his hips causing Draco to groan and speed up his pace._

_The teenager managed to control himself long enough to make his temporary partner pant heavily and lift her hips to change the angle to one that made her cry out in ecstasy. Draco followed shortly after, pulling out and collapsing next to her on the bed._

_"I'll see you tomorrow kid," Annette replied, forcing her voice to sound cold and detached__. She had been allowed to s__tay in bed and relax __once or twice, but Lucius always wanted her gone when the job was done. His__ son was probably the same._

_Draco sighed out of contentment before watching the woman dress herself and apparate directly out of the room. He wondered what she meant by her statement._

_Annette's lessons filled that entire summer, and by__ the end __of it,__ he returned to school with a newfound confidence. He managed to get Daphne to sleep with him shortly after, and she didn't believe him when he told her he hadn't cheated on her over the summer. She was furious that he wouldn't wait for her and demanded to know her name. When Draco told her the truth, Daphne yelled at him for a good hour, before leaving him out of disgust._

_After __Daphne came a string of girls that he wouldn't be able to remember the names of even if his life depended on it. Finally came Pansy, whom he had been with for over a year and was expected to marry before his eighteenth birthday. She wasn't the person__ he would __have picked to spend his life with, but at least she was someone he had a history with and didn't hate him, unlike some other people who he had grown up with. He had vow__ed not to cheat on her like his father __always had on his mother. In fact he had planned to take a vow of fidelity for her. Now, Lily had stolen his attentions, and yet, he__ was still obligated to marry Pansy Parkinson._

Hermione looked at her former enemy with a small smile. He was clearly lost in thought, and she sat patiently waiting for him to sort out whichever conflict he was battling in his head. She heard the man groan and she playfully kissed his neck. His eyes shot open in surprise, and he tilted his head to give her more access. She kissed his neck for a few seconds before she heard a small sob from behind her.

"You bastard!" a voice yelled, shoving Hermione aside. The witch slapped Draco hard across the cheek. "First you call _her _name while you're fucking me, now I see you with her in a public hallway. Are you trying to disgrace me, Draco Malfoy?"

"Pans, I'm sorry, but I thought we were over when I screwed up that night. You haven't spoke to me in days," Draco said calmly, fuming internally.

The usually pug-faced witch had her face knitted so tightly in anger, Hermione couldn't distinguish one feature from another. Pansy slapped him again before telling him that she was having the contract nullified first thing in the morning. She didn't care how good he was in the bedroom, or how rich he would make her. Parkinsons did not put up with infidelity.

Hermione watched the exchange before walking away calmly to give them some privacy. She entered the common room and rubbed her temples before starting her schoolwork. She hadn't intended to like the man; she was only supposed to keep him safe. She did wonder what the story with Draco and Pansy was, she had assumed they had broken up by the cold shoulder she had been giving him all week. Hermione decided to ask Draco about it when he got back to the common room, she would never be the other woman. She didn't like Pansy, but she didn't deserve a cheating boyfriend.

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**A/N: There's Chapter Six. I still love your lovely reviews and I am doing my best to reply to all the questions. If I don't, DarkSaber3434 has agreed to loan out Kreacher.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey there, This is...really late. I'd go into long winded excuses as to why I didn't update in so long but I've decided just to leave it at pesonal issues. My beta knows what's up and I'm trying to keep up with this story but if I don't update on schedule then I'm really sorry, but I'm trying my best.**

**Wow, that's a rant.**

**Anywho, thanks for being an incredible beta ChrissyTingTing**

**Chrissytingting: I love your reviews and your beta...ing (sure, that's english _), I think I forgot to go back and correct those mistakes, but I'll get on that asap. Thanks for saying I'm improving :)**

**ThelovelyKay: No it's not sad that it's the highlight of your life to get a shout-out...although you may want to get out more :P (I kid, I kid). Thanks, and I'll get on the next chapter ASAP so it'll be speedier than this one (I hope). That is how I envision him getting his talent in the bedroom ;)**

**StupidAmericanIdioms91: Well here's the 'more' you were asking for. Hope you like it.**

**DarkSaber3434: Hello there slavedriver. Are you really THAT surprised that I gave 14-year-old Draco a mistress? **

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Draco Malfoy spent the next week trying to get Lily to speak to him. She was avoiding him like he had Dragon Pox. For the first time in his life, he felt entirely alone, and it hurt much more than he had thought it would have. When he finally cornered her after class one afternoon, she slapped him across the face before leaving with Blaise Zabini. He had no idea when they had become close, but ever since she had been ignoring him they had been almost inseparable. A selfish part of him believed she was doing it to hurt him, but the logical side knew it was because Blaise was a genuinely nice guy, and Draco was not. Her flat out rejection stung more than his cheek, he wanted someone he couldn't have, and the man who used to be his best friend had her. It was infuriating. Harry Potter had seen his crestfallen look, and bit back a grin before approaching the man. Draco watched the man's arrogant approach, and waited for the snarky comment that was sure to spew out of the gash he called a mouth.

"I have no idea what you did, but you probably deserved it, Malfoy," Harry said, before patting the pureblood on the back and heading off to his office. What possessed McGonagall to give him a position as a professor the man would never know, even the infuriating Granger girl would have been a better choice.

Draco stared after the Boy-Who-Refused-To-Die and sighed at the fact that even his enemy had noticed that he was having woman problems. He left the classroom and ran his fingers through the locks that he rarely bothered to style anymore. He didn't see the point in looking perfect when his classmates didn't give him the time of day. He hated them; Lily had told him to stay because she wanted him around, but it looked like she changed her mind.

"I should just leave," the pureblood muttered to himself, before suddenly falling face first onto the floor. He lay petrified on the floor seething that someone had caught him while his back was turned. He had assumed his fellow students had settled for simply ignoring him, but apparently they weren't above attacking a man while he was unprepared.

_"__Finite Incantatem__,"_ he heard after what felt like hours of kissing the stone floor of the castle. Draco slowly got to his feet and dusted off his robes, feeling a weight lifting from his bones. The ache of holding the same position for god knows how long was still there, but he tried not to cringe for the sake of his pride.

"Thanks. I guess someone thought it'd be funny to hex me while my back was turned," he spat, attempting to stretch out his stiff legs.

"That would be Pansy. You pissed her off quite well didn't you," his saviour replied.

"You helped, but I'm sorry I made you the other woman. Even though I thought it was over with Pansy since she'd stopped talking to me, I shouldn't have kissed you until I knew for sure," Draco managed, incredulous that this girl had gotten him to apologize for what felt like the umpteenth time.

Lily walked into the classroom without saying a word and the pureblood stared after her, figuring he wouldn't get a reply and that she truly hated him. She returned a few moments later with her book in tow and smiled at him. She mumbled that she had forgotten it in the classroom and saw him facedown on the floor.

"So you took pity on me, that's why you undid the spell," he said sadly, fidgeting with his shirt.

"I debated leaving you petrified so I could yell at you, but I figured Pansy did that for me."

Draco chuckled at her attempt at humour before touching her hand gently. She pulled away from his touch, looking at him sadly.

"I've forgiven you for what you did, but please don't touch me," she replied heading down the corridor.

Draco mentally kicked himself for assuming she would be receptive to him after what had happened. He was still grateful she was talking to him, it was a start.

"Is there something on your mind, Draco?" he heard when they reached the familiar Slytherin common room. She had seated herself on one of the plain black couches. She was beautiful even bathed in the eerie green glow from the Black Lake, that shone through all of the windows. He had to have her.

"Lily, there's something I want to ask you, but before I do... How much do you know about the Malfoy family's role in the war?"

"Not much really. It didn't reach France," the witch lied, knitting her brows at the strange question that had the potential to blow her cover. She prepared herself to hear about Bellatrix Lestrange.

"We weren't on the right side. My father has been a follower of the Dark Lord his entire life, becoming almost his right hand man. Because my mother married Lucius, it was by default that she followed the Dark Lord, unless she chose to die for being a blood traitor. Anyways, I was raised to hate everything that wasn't pure (no comma) or anything that went against the beliefs of a man we all thought was dead. But when he returned to power, I was tasked to kill Dumbledore. Voldemort honestly didn't believe that I could do it - it was punishment for my father, who had failed to retrieve a prophecy for him. He was foiled by a couple of teenagers.

"Anyways, I was dead set on fulfilling my task, but when I had the opportunity to do it, I... couldn't. Professor Snape killed Dumbledore for me to save me from the death that would've occurred if I had failed to murder the headmaster. After Dumbledore died, the war officially started. Voldemort moved into my family's manor, and I saw... horrible things. People were dying left and right, hostages were taken. It was... torment to be forced to watch murders committed so casually. I secretly hoped that I would die in battle so I wouldn't have to see any more people killed because of their blood.

"Finally we came to the battle right here at Hogwarts. So many people died: classmates, friends, enemies. There was so much blood that I couldn't tell which side was winning. My family was fighting for... him, but after a short time my mother decided that she was fed up with this war of prejudice. She dived in front of a spell aimed at a muggleborn in my year. She told me how we had believed utter bullshit, and the girl she saved - Hermione Granger - saved me.

"I never thanked her."

Hermione was sitting silently through the entire story: she had no idea how much the war had effected the Malfoy heir. She assumed that he followed whatever his father said and had changed due to the fact his father was in prison. Under his façade, he was a caring person, if not a bit traumatized, like the rest of the survivors.

"I'm sure she knows," the witch smiled, happy to receive gratitude, even if the grateful man didn't know who she was.

Draco smiled sadly at his memory, cursing his father for the umpteenth time since his mother died. "I told you that because I thought you should know I'm not a saint. I'm not even nice most days. You make me a better person, Lily. When I'm with you, I try harder, I apologize, and most importantly - I smile."

Draco leaned forward and kissed the witch in front of him. He waited for her reaction, hoping that she wanted him in return. If not he didn't know what he would do; she was his tie to sanity in a school full of people who wished him dead.

He wasn't disappointed. The witch leaned forward and cautiously returned the kiss. "Please, don't hurt me," she begged, and Draco kissed her more fervently in silent promise.

Harry Potter had no clue why he was offered a professor position this year. Minerva had offered him the position shortly after the war. She had told him that it was because of his impressive use of defensive magic and that everyone would feel more comfortable being taught by a war hero than someone they had never heard of. Harry had spent the last half of the summer learning the rest of the spells he would need to teach effectively.

He was currently seated in his office grading papers, when he came across one that looked rather familiar. He recognized that handwriting and especially the way the person wrote. The writing popped off the page like an old ghost.

"Hermione...?" he mumbled, unable to keep his eyes off the page. His face knitted together in a look of pure shock, before contorting into anger at being kept in the dark. "Why did you hide this from me…"

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**And there's chapter seven. Hope y'all like it (yes, I'm southern for a day, what of it?). **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hi there _ Wow, I've been gone awhile.**

**The hiatus is still around, I'm trying to get back up to regular updates, but if I can't please don't kill me. I'm in the process of finding a more permanent house and I'm also 16 weeks pregnant. My beta is aware of this and I'm sorry that I have been the author who disappears for weeks on her. Must be annoying _**

**Anyways, thanks to the people who stuck with me for this month, and the ones who didn't will hopefully come back and read this chapter...**

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_"Hermione...?" he mumbled, unable to keep his eyes off the page. His face knitted together in a look of pure shock before contorting into anger at being kept in the dark. "Why did you hide this from me…"_

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Harry Potter continued to fume in his office for the next several hours. The various ornaments adorning his desk had become a useless pile of debris. He clenched his fists and sighed deeply. If he had learned anything from the war, it was that rushing into action never solved a thing. Unfortunately, that left plenty of room for reflection.

The wizard pulled out the last letter he had received from the elusive Hermione Granger.

_Dear Harry,_

_I'm glad you've found something you love to do. I know you wanted to be an Auror, but I can definitely see you teaching. Everyone learned so much from you back in fifth year – Merlin, that feels like a lifetime ago. You deserve a calm profession after what we've done for the Wizarding World – you especially. _

_Besides, if you choose to leave after this year, I'm sure McGonagall will understand. I'm sure that by now the school is used to replacing their DADA teachers every year._

_I am sorry to hear about Ginny, she seemed so happy when I left. Quidditch had always been her dream… Ron's death must've hit her harder than we'd thought. She's in good hands at the Burrow, though._

_Paris is wonderful this time of year. I hardly feel like myself here. I can't count how many times I've seen the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe… the Eiffel Tower! It really is beautiful here, Harry._

_Keep me posted on how you're doing, and how Ginny's doing. You know I worry about her__;__ she's like a sister to me._

_Love,_

_Hermione_

The letter had arrived the previous week, one of the scarce replies he had gotten from her. After she had successfully hidden them the previous year, he had known trying to find her would be pointless. She was smart enough to completely disappear from everyone, including her friends. Harry looked between it and _Lily_'s assignment, and the two papers confirmed his suspicions of her identity. He had been teaching Hermione for almost two months now, and she had been lying to him all this time: she was most certainly not in Paris. In all the years he'd known the young witch, she had barely hidden anything – except for the time-turner of course. Harry had been lied to numerous times in his life by many different people, but never by his close friends.

_Maybe it isn't her, lots of girls write the same, _Harry thought, hopefully. Memories of previous lessons bombarded his mind. The girl was articulate, intelligent, and had an answer for everything. Her papers were above anything he got from any other student, and she was nice to literally everyone, including the insufferable Malfoy heir. It was Hermione.

Harry Potter removed his glasses and rubbed at his eyes. He forced all thoughts of his friend out of his head so that he could finish his grading. He'd deal with the witch in the morning. It wouldn't do to storm down to the Slytherin dorms and drag the girl out of bed. If she was still the Hermione he loved, she must be hiding there for a reason and exposing her to a room full of Slytherins would be disastrous. He would wait until morning, even if it drove him nuts.

* * *

Hermione broke the kiss and gently pulled away. "I do like you, Draco, but I need you to be patient with me," she whispered.

Draco nodded and ghosted his lips over hers before retiring to his room for the night. The pureblood was never one to reveal secrets or explain his actions to anyone. He had always been perfectly happy to keep girls on a need-to-know basis. He wondered if it was because he had finally found a woman who seemed as emotionally damaged as he was. The man was about to retire to bed when a proud-looking snowy owl flew through the open window.

_Draco Abraxas Malfoy,_

_Slytherin Common Room,_

_Hogwarts (no apostrophe) School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,_

_Mr. Malfoy, we regret to inform you that your father has escaped from Azkaban prison on the night of November 8__th__. We urge you to remain within the confines of Hogwarts School until the time that he is recaptured._

_Please owl us if he attempts to contact you__._

_Sincerely, _

_Percy Weasley_

_Undersecretary of the Minister of Magic_

Draco crushed the bleached parchment between his fingers. He knew that finding happiness wouldn't be in the cards for him. He tore the letter into numerous pieces. The owl nipped at his fingers expectantly, waiting for a treat, but he shooed it away angrily. Draco was mildly surprised his father escaped so quickly, it was bound to happen eventually though. The man had far too many connections to rot in prison for his undoubtedly long life. He wasn't in danger unless he disobeyed what Lucius would eventually request. The pureblood would admit his curiosity at _how _he went about escaping. No doubt it was something loud and spectacular, Malfoys never did anything quietly.

The young wizard knew that his father wouldn't be caught again; Lucius Malfoy knew how to disappear. His freedom meant that his family home, the one that his mother had painstakingly taken care of and poured her life into over the years, would be gutted in search of clues. He would have to be there to save her favourite possessions, as well as to calm the elves – they were so fond of Mistress Cissy. She loved those elves, taking care of them when they injured themselves.

The woman was kind to everyone… but only when her cruel husband was out of the house. He brought out the worst in everyone.

* * *

Hermione Granger dragged her feet to class for the first time in her life. Harry's class terrified her, they had known each other since they were eleven – he would figure her out eventually. She tried to ignore the urge to raise her hand and answer every question that was posed – no matter how easy, but her schoolwork was the same as it always was. The muggleborn could not do anything half way: if she did an assignment, she'd do it thoroughly.

She took her usual seat next to Blaise, and though she supposed she could have resumed sitting next to Draco, she genuinely enjoyed talking to the dark-skinned wizard. He was articulate and funny, and he responded intelligently – so much different than talking to Ron in class. The man smiled and greeted her warmly.

Draco Malfoy entered the classroom and spotted Lily still sitting with Blaise. He swallowed his pride and sat next to the two people. Blaise was never one to go after another guy's girl and the witch would be his. He would make that perfectly clear to his dark-skinned friend.

_So much for Slytherins being cold and heartless, _Hermione thought, unaware of what a certain blonde man was currently thinking.

After taking notes furiously for the entire lesson Hermione raised from her seat to leave, hoping that another day had passed where she had not been found out.

"Lily, not so fast. Come back here," Harry managed, attempting to sound polite.

_Damn, _Hermione thought, her mind jumping to conclusions.

She calmly dragged her feet into Harry's office and waited for him to join her. The girl mentally went over the entire lesson. She had done nothing wrong, and taken meticulous notes. Hermione berated herself for jumping to such a rash conclusion.

_He doesn't know it's you! You look nothing like Hermione Granger, you don't even sound like her anymore! Calm down, _she commanded herself, unconcerned with the fact she had taken to mentally referring to herself in the third person.

"Hello Hermione."

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**A/N: There you have it chapter eight. Reviews are lovely and appreciated, but I definitely don't expect them after being gone for this long :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey, this is ALMOST a weekly update. I'm getting better. Anyway, no Draco/Hermione action this chapter.**

**SauerKirsche: It's good to see your name :) I'm glad you didn't abandon me!**

**xSerenityIsn'tAlwaysTheAnswerx: Thanks for the good luck, I'm starting to look forward to being a mother :)**

**Megan Consoer: Hello, I haven't seen you around here before :) Here's the next chapter you requested :)**

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She calmly dragged her feet into Harry's office and waited for him to join her. The girl mentally went over the entire lesson. She had done nothing wrong, and taken meticulous notes. Hermione berated herself for jumping to such a rash conclusion.

_He doesn__'__t know it's you! You look nothing like Hermione Granger, you don__'__t even sound like her anymore! Calm down,_she commanded herself, unconcerned with the fact she had taken to mentally referring to herself in the third person.

"Hello Hermione."

* * *

"I have no clue what you're talking about, Professor," Hermione responded swallowing the bile that had threatened to expel from her mouth.

"Don't mess with me Hermione; you were never a good liar: it doesn't suit you."

Hermione saw the hurt cross Harry's face, saw how he had attempted to mask the pain by displaying anger and contempt. The resulting look broke the girl's heart. She sighed heavily and choked out, "How long have you known?"

"It doesn't matter how long; the point is that _you _didn't tell me!" fumed the bespectacled boy.

Hermione wrung her fingers in the chair, becoming less comfortable by the second. She managed to choke out an explanation as to why she had been secretive since she left for France.

"Towards the end of the final battle, Mrs. Malfoy saved my life. Before she died she made me promise to look after her son. Originally, I'd planned to keep him out of Azkaban, and then we'd call it even. But I couldn't just leave it at that…

"Don't give me that look Harry, you and I **both **saw his face at the trial. He was a shell of a man. I followed him to Paris just to check up on him. I heard he was returning to Hogwarts, through a mutual acquaintance we had in the city. That's where _this _look came from," she paused and indicated at her own face, before continuing, "McGonagall knows, she arranged for me to be put in Slytherin. He can't know it's me or else he won't let me help him."

Other than a few strange looks and a scoff at the mention of Malfoy, Harry Potter had remained silent throughout Hermione's explanation. It fit perfectly with the witch's character: she was always rooting for the downtrodden and broken. She fought for the house elves, after all, and she was always the first to defend Neville Longbottom.

"I understand what you're doing – I guess, but what I don't get is why you couldn't tell me."

"You'd have stopped me. You haven't spoken to Dra-Malfoy since the war, you wouldn't believe that he'd changed," Hermione replied, "I sometimes don't believe it myself."

Harry sighed, and slumped into his own chair, choosing to ignore her almost usage of the blonde wizard's first name. The defensive part of his brain chose to believe that it was from pretending to be his friend, rather than an actual term of familiarity.

"You can always trust me, Hermione. You know that."

* * *

Outside the door, a certain pug-faced witch held her hand over her mouth. She had just heard the most _interesting _conversation. She had just returned to the defence against the dark arts classroom room for her textbook and heard a heated conversation between her professor and whom she had assumed was a student.

"You can always trust me Hermione, you know that," came Harry's voice from inside the classroom.

_Since when is the mudblood back? _She asked herself, knitting her brows together firmly.

She crept up to the stairs, but before she could climb them, the door swung inward. Using all of her will, she dived under the staircase until the girl came out and descended them. Pansy glanced out from her hiding spot and saw a curly blonde head making her way across the room towards the exit.

A plan was already formulating in the Slytherin's mind. She had enough dirt on this girl to ruin her life.

_Oh, I'm sure Draco would __**love **__to meet the real Lily, _she laughed to herself, leaving her hiding spot.

"Miss Parkinson, can I help you?" Harry asked, coming out of his office and seeing her crossing the room.

"Oh, nothing, _Professor,_" she sneered, "Just forgot my book is all."

"Well hurry up, I need to lock this door."

Pansy left the room in a cheery mood. Things may actually go her way yet.

* * *

Lucius Malfoy crept through Godric's Hollow. No one would think to look for him in the birthplace of Harry Potter. A fitting place to hide, but that did not make him pleased to have to hide like a common thief. He was a Malfoy, and a Malfoy deserved every luxury fitting his financial status.

The loosely packed snow crunched underfoot, and feet rapidly began to sting from the inferior lining in what was left of his Dragon skin boots. He glanced around at the dilapidated stone buildings and snorted at the fact the ministry had yet to live up to their promise of restoring the old village. The only thing that had changed in this town was the statue of the Potter family in the square.

_Well, that is the ugliest statue I've ever seen, and I had to stare at the elf in the ministry for years, _he chuckled to himself.

"Lucius Malfoy?" a voice inquired, and he slowly turned his head, prepared to strike this potential threat down.

"We were friends of Draco at Hogwarts…" the first managed.

"We fought with you in the final battle," the other added on, his voice stronger than the first's.

Both wizards dropped their wands to the ground as a sign of good faith, taking a gamble on whether this action would get them killed.

"Crabbe and Goyle's boys? What on earth are the two of you doing in this hole," he replied, indicating to the state of their surroundings.

"We were actually about to ask you the same question, Mr. Malfoy."

Lucius Malfoy stared at the two boys. It further proved his originally theory that Hogwarts was populated by mudbloods and idiots, these two fitting into the latter category.

"What do you think I'm doing here? You assumed that I'd just waltz into the manor and allow the Aurors to recapture me?"

The boys exchanged glances and raised their eyebrows at the sarcastic statement from the Malfoy patriarch. "Well, I guess not…"

Lucius' discussion with the bottom of the intellectual barrel was interrupted by a tawny barn owl that landed on his shoulder and currently sticking its leg out. Whoever it belong to it had been well trained, and likely found him quickly. The news would be fresh.

He snatched the letter from it, swiftly snapping its neck in case it had been tracked there.

_Mr. __Malfoy, I've received word that you had escaped from Azkaban. I'm sure the story will be fascinating, if I am ever lucky enough to hear__ it. _

_I realize the danger in contacting you, but you may be interested to know that your son is associating with a woman who is well beneath him. Not only is she beneath him, she's the woman who your sister-in-law was aiming at when your wife was tragically hit._

_Hermione Granger._

_Now, I know you can't do much, but I want you to know that I am doing all I can to solve this problem and bring your son back to me. _

_I thought you'd be interested to know._

_Pansy Parkinson_

Lucius Malfoy crumpled the letter in his hand and sighed heavily. There was no way in hell he'd let the idiot Parkinson daughter to bring his son to his senses. His stupid wife had apparently done a better job than he'd originally thought on softening the boy.

He smiled at the two boys and asked if they still had friends in the castle. He would bide his time and see what the Parkinson girl came up with. Upon her eventual failure, he would send one of these boys off and bring the boy to him. If they could get hold of the Granger girl, his son would undoubtedly follow. He always did grow unhealthy attachments and, once again, it was Lucius' job to relieve him of it.

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**A/N: There it is. Reviews are yummy and I enjoy reading them :]**


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